Apple pauses the planned reduction of around 5,000 positions in the AppleCare telephone customer support, which were to be replaced by AI agents. This is reported by Bloomberg citing sources familiar with the plans. Apple CEO John Ternus, who has been in office since September, is postponing the step indefinitely, while the already active AI telephone assistant of the hotline continues to operate unchanged.
Original plan included AI replacement for phone support
According to Bloomberg, Apple worked out an internal plan over the summer of 2026 to cut around 5,000 positions in AppleCare customer support. Management assumed that AI-powered phone and web agents could take over some of the tasks currently performed by employees. MacRumors first publicly reported on the internal considerations on September 29, 2026, citing information from Bloomberg reporter Mark Gurman. The figure of 5,000 affected positions comes solely from this report and has not been independently verified.
In parallel to the AppleCare considerations, Apple has already laid off half a dozen directors from middle management in recent weeks. Currently, Apple is no longer willing to cut the AppleCare positions and has put the plans on hold indefinitely, according to the report. The company has not provided a reason for the reversal so far, and Apple did not publicly comment on the plans when asked. It remains unclear how many of the 5,000 positions had already been specifically assigned.
AI assistant has been answering calls since August
Regardless of the pause, the AI-powered automation of the hotline continues. Those in the U.S. or Canada who dial the number 1-800-APL-CARE are now initially directed to a voice-based AI assistant, according to MacRumors. This assistant guides users through troubleshooting steps for Apple devices and connects them directly to a human representative upon request. The system has been active since August 2026. Prior to the change, calls to AppleCare were exclusively handled by human employees who answered questions about iPhone, Mac, iPad, and other Apple products. With the AI pre-screening system, the first point of contact for callers changes, even though human support remains available.
Apple does not officially confirm what technology is behind it. According to an anonymous source, Apple is collaborating with the voice AI startup Sierra AI; this information has not been independently verified. Additionally, since February 2026, Apple has been testing a chat tab called “Ask” in the support app, through which customers can also receive AI-powered assistance, currently only for a limited user group. Both tools remain unaffected by the halted job cuts – the automation continues, just not the planned staff reduction.
Ternus reorganizes Apple
The decision comes in the early phase of John Ternus as Apple CEO. The former head of hardware development at Apple, who has shaped the company for over twenty years, took over the position on September 1, 2026, from Tim Cook, who remains with the company as Executive Chairman. Within the first four weeks in office, Ternus already eliminated several management levels to shorten decision-making processes for new products – the AppleCare pause fits into this broader restructuring, even though both measures affect different parts of the company.
With the retreat on AppleCare, Apple is also reversing a trend that many tech companies set in 2026: 21 companies are now openly justifying job cuts with the use of artificial intelligence, including Monday.com, which cut around 620 jobs in July. Apple is now taking the opposite approach and is initially holding on to the support positions, even though the AI technology for the task is already in use. Whether the pause will remain permanent or is just a temporary delay remains open.
It remains to be seen whether Apple will maintain the AppleCare positions in the long term or if the reversal is just a breather before a later, more quietly communicated reduction. It will be crucial to see how the AI telephone assistants perform in the coming months with more complex inquiries – if the technology performs well, the pressure on the remaining support positions is likely to increase, even without a new announcement from Cupertino.
